Paying dearly for violating IUU fishing: Both imprisoned and lost ships

Both fishing vessels were captured at the same time

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Paying dearly for violating IUU fishing: Taking on debt, incurring sadness

On the morning of June 26, Mr. Nguyen Ro (67 years old), the fisherman who was once famous for his successful business in Lam Truc 1 neighborhood, Hoai Thanh ward (Hoai Nhon town, Binh Dinh), was hospitalized at the Bong Son Regional General Hospital (Hoai Nhon town, Binh Dinh) for surgery in a situation of extreme poverty. The villagers, who have witnessed his prosperity with two fishing vessels of bumper harvest every sea trip, now feel even more sympathy for the current tragedy of Mr. Ro's family.

After 10 years of working for other fishing vessels, Mr. Ro saved some capital. In 1995, he borrowed more money to build a new fishing vessel numbered BD 1127 TS, with a capacity of more than 200 CV, at a cost of nearly VND 700 million. Every year, he sent his ship on 8–9 sea trips, each of which brought a bumper harvest of products. The money borrowed to build the ship was soon paid off by Mr. Ro.

In 2001, Mr. Ro once again borrowed more money to build the second fishing vessel with the number BD 1929 TS. This ship has a larger capacity, so it costs up to VND 1.2 billion.

"To build the second fishing vessel and buy fishing tools, in addition to my savings, I had to borrow another VND 180 million from the bank and another VND 500 million from relatives. That loan for my family is not small, but business is going smoothly, and I think it will be completely refunded soon. But just one time of bad luck, both of my family's fishing vessels were arrested at the same time by Indonesian law enforcement forces for fishing in their country's waters. So all the effort and hard work of me and my two sons after decades suddenly disappeared into sea foam," Mr. Ro said in a sobbing voice.

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Paying dearly for violating IUU fishing: Taking a risk once, regretting all the life

Mr. Ro sadly recalled: On a sea trip in April 2007, his two fishing vessels departed at the same time at Cua Dai (My Tho city, Tien Giang). Mr. Ro is the captain of one ship, and Mr. Ro's son, Nguyen Rang, is the captain of one ship. After more than 20 days of fishing, both fishing vessels of Mr. Ro's family were all full; he and his son planned to catch their last net and then return to shore to sell their products.

The two ships were fishing 20 nautical miles apart in Indonesian waters when suddenly an Indonesian law enforcement ship appeared. After transferring all crew members on the two fishing vessels to the law enforcement ship, the Indonesian functional sector pulled both fishing vessels back to shore.

"At that time, our fishing vessels were not equipped with modern machinery, so we did not know what waters we were operating in, so we were arrested for fishing in violation of Indonesian waters. After that, our fishing vessels were auctioned by the Indonesian functional sector to their fishermen, and my sons and I were detained by them," Mr. Ro recalled.

Misery in the ultimate tragedy

Thanks to the intervention of the Embassy of Vietnam in Indonesia, Mr. Ro and his eldest son, Nguyen Rang, had their sentences reduced from 52 months in prison to 48 months. As for Mr. Ro's second son, Nguyen Thai Trong, as a laborer, he was only in prison for 12 months.

"During the time in prison, the Indonesian functional sector regularly advised detained fishermen not to fish in foreign waters because doing so is illegal. They also told us that after completing our prison sentences and returning home, we should remind our friends and colleagues with offshore fishing vessels not to violate the same as us," shared Mr. Ro.

After completing his prison term and returning to his hometown, Mr. Ro felt the burden of debt. Losing two fishing vessels at the same time, all his assets evaporated in the blink of an eye. Mr. Ro was left with only a debt of VND 180 million borrowed from the bank and VND 500 million borrowed from relatives. Money borrowed from relatives can be delayed, but the longer the bank debt is delayed, the more interest has to be paid and the more debt will pile up. So Mr. Ro tried his best to pay off all the bank debt, but the debts from each of his relatives still clung to his life.

It never rains, but it pours; the life of Mr. Ro's family completely depends on his wife's job as a net mender. But after a traffic accident, Mr. Roa's wife broke her arm, which means that she lost her job. Then the burden of food, clothing, and money was put into the aluminum boat that Mr. Ro built to catch freshwater fish at Sen Lake in the Lam Truc area every day.

"The lake is tiny but has up to 5 boats to catch fish every day, so the income is not much. On a good day, I earn VND 50,000–70,000; on a bad day, I earn VND 20,000–30,000. In a situation where old age is at a disadvantage, having a job to earn VND 50,000–70,000/day is a great comfort," sadly said Mr. Nguyen Ro.

After receiving a 48-month prison sentence, when he returned to his hometown, Mr. Ro's eldest son, Nguyen Rang, suffered from heart disease and could not work for other fishing vessels to earn a living like his younger brother, Nguyen Thai Trong, so he could not do anything to help his parents in this miserable situation.

Mr. Ro and his wife endured a miserable life until the last days of June, when Mr. Ro had to be hospitalized at Bong Son Regional General Hospital (Hoai Nhon town) for surgery.

Visiting him and seeing him having to call the service that sells meals to the patient's relatives to order for each meal, then having to sadly go out alone to receive meals, made us feel so sad.

"After retiring from her job as a net mender, my wife tried to run the market to earn money to take care of me for treatment at the hospital. The children also wanted to come and take care of me, but the eldest son had a heart disease while having to do all the work to support the five children. The younger son had to work for other fishing vessels to make a living, so I did not let him come. After the surgery, I tried to buy rice and porridge myself. I did not bother my children," shared Mr. Nguyen Ro.

"Before the accident, every day my wife mended nets and earned VND 100,000–150,000; life was temporarily fine. The youngest son's money from working in Saigon is sent back to be saved to gradually pay off debts to relatives. Now I am sick and have to have surgery; the money my youngest son sent back has been spent all for treatment; the debt of VND 500 million from my relatives is even heavier, haunting my sleep every night," Mr. Nguyen Ro lamented.